Cooper Albers previews Ikram Aliskerov vs. Brunno Ferreira at UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Torres in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Middleweight stoppage artists collide on Saturday night, as Ikram Alikerov takes on Brunno Ferreira at UFC Baku.
Aliskerov (17–2, 4–1 UFC) is coming off a unanimous decision win over JunYong Park in October 2025, his first non-stoppage victory since joining the UFC. Ferreira (15–3, 6–3 UFC) looks to rebound from a first-round knockout at the hands of Gregory Rodrigues in March, which snapped a three-fight surge.
Aliskerov enters as a heavy -310 moneyline favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook. Ferreira is a +250 underdog, with the fight total set at O/U 1.5 rounds.
The UFC’s nascent Meta rankings have deemed Ikram Aliskerov the No. 14-ranked middleweight in the world. Fair enough. Hailing from Dagestan, Russia, he’s a multi-time Sambo world champion with surgical striking and scholarly fight IQ — what many would classify as the “complete package.”
Aliskerov, 33, owns a 71% career finish rate with seven knockouts, and his first three Octagon wins came in the opening round. The southpaw has only ever stumbled against 185-pound royalty: Khamzat Chimaev at Brave CF in April 2019 and Robert Whittaker in June 2024. Still, it’s worth noting that both defeats came by first-round knockout
Brunno Ferreira’s fighting style is ripped straight out of a Marvel comic book. A three-time judo national champion, “The Hulk” is a freak athlete who specializes in explosive throws and, dare I say, smashing faces.
The former No. 15-ranked contender, 33, boasts a 93% finish rate, highlighted by nine knockouts. Backed by a strong grappling base and an opportunistic submission game, he’s more than comfortable embracing chaos on the feet, where every strike is thrown at maximum force. But that boss-battle approach leaves the Brazilian just as susceptible to incoming haymakers. All of his losses have come by stoppage, including two by knockout. Back in March, Ferreira got starched by Gregory Rodrigues in under two minutes.
It doesn’t get much more exciting than a pair of grapplers who would much rather stand and bang. Aliskerov’s Sambo should neutralize Ferreira’s judo, keeping the fight on the feet for much of the contest. From there, with both men already showing cracks in their chins, it becomes a classic question of whether surgical precision can overcome wrecking-ball power. It shouldn’t take long before we get our answer.
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